"A sower went out to sow...Whoever has ears ought to hear." Mt 13:1-9
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Dear Friends at Christ Our Hope,
I found St. Paul's Letter to the Romans this Sunday to be quite comforting considering everything happening in the world. His message was to a Christian community dealing with plague, violence, and death at the hands of Roman soldiers (the law enforcers of their day), and persecution as the scapegoats for everything that was wrong in Rome. The gist of St. Paul's message is that all of creation, everything created by God, was suffering with the early Christian Community. To this suffering, St. Paul provided healing balm with his words: "I consider that the sufferings of this present time are as nothing compared with the glory to be revealed for us." That glory comes from Jesus Christ alone. Jesus knows that we, too, wish to be "set free from (the) slavery" of this pandemic and he hears our pleadings.
For some, that freedom came with their first public Mass in months this past weekend. While turnout was expectedly light, some did get to return to celebrate Eucharist together as a community. What a blessing for Fr. Bryan and me to be joined at the table of plenty. We will take the month of July to perfect our ability to offer public Masses while adhering to a stringent set of Safety protocols designed to keep us all safe in this time of COVID-19.
As we return to the table of the Lord, I want to encourage you to read
Archbishop Etienne's Pastoral Letter on the Eucharist published last month around Corpus Christi. This beautiful reflection is about the power of the Eucharist to transform our lives and bring us all closer together in Christ. As some of us are blessed to return to the Eucharist feast, others continue their fast due to the Coronavirus pandemic. I could not think of a better time to spend time in prayer contemplating how the Eucharist has impacted our lives and envision a new perspective on our call to be a Eucharistic people, sharing our sufferings with the sufferings of others in order to build solidarity as a Christian community.
Please be assured of Father Bryan's and my continued prayers for you and your family.
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Online Mass will continue on Sunday at 8:30 AM, 5 PM and 7 PM
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Reopening Guidelines
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Thank You Lauren!
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Last week our community sent out an email about how we are safely welcoming our community back to Mass. If you did not receive that email, please let us know by sending us an email. You can also watch Deacon Dennis' video message in English here and in Spanish here.
We will continue to stream Masses on Sunday, while ensuring we meet all necessary safety guidelines for those attending Mass in person.
All those who would like to attend Mass in person must preregister online via this form on our website. The form for each week is open from Monday at 9:00 AM and to Thursday at midnight.
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As we approach Lauren Pusich's transition to a new role with Catholic Community Services/Catholic Housing Services,
all are welcome to
celebrate the work and ministry of Lauren Pusich
this
Sunday at "Coffee Hour
with Deanna Lauren" at 9:30 AM.
Stop by any time after the 8:30 Mass during the coffee hour to share a few words with Lauren via
Zoom
!
Lauren's staff ministry at Christ Our Hope has come to an end and we celebrate the wonderful work she has done in our community. Cheers to your new chapter with CCS/CHS Lauren!
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Memories with Lauren
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Sing a New Song Unto the Lord
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On Her Time with the Jo & COH
"Christ Our Hope Catholic Church in Downtown Seattle is a beacon of light where all are welcome to grow in Faith, Hope and Love through vibrant celebrations of liturgy; programs of faith formation, evangelization & compassionate outreach; and responsible stewardship. We are a diverse people of God whose faith inspires hope that shows itself in love. Spe Salvi"
-
Mission of Christ Our Hope
The past three years have been a tremendous gift.
While I am excited for this new opportunity to explore further partnerships and connection between the work of Catholic Community Services and parishes, I am grieving leaving this community as a staff member. There are not enough words for how grateful I am to have met and partnered with each of you. Simply, thank you.
While I will no longer be a staff member at Christ Our Hope, I will continue to serve on the Josephinum resident services team including supporting events such as Thanksgiving, Christmas, and many others when it is safe to do so again. I am grateful that I can continue in that way to support the connection between our shared communities and that it means that I will continue to see you all at events. You will also see me on Sundays when I am able to attend Mass here - I am still a parishioner of Christ Our Hope.
I look forward to seeing how our immersion program grows in new ways this next year virtually and beyond. We've already begun conversations with our partner schools and agencies as to how we can best continue the program. More details on how our community can support immersions will come from Deacon Dennis. Thank you for your generous support of this program for the past three years.
With regards to Christ Our Hope communications, we have a strong communications committee that I have been grateful to support. If you are interested in supporting the work of that committee, please email
comms@christourhopeseattle.org
For the past three years I have seen how our faith truly inspires hope that shows itself in love. I've seen it in the immersions with students; in the bingo nights with parishioners and residents; the Lenten Soup Suppers; the women's luncheon; Sunday hospitality; the beautiful music of the Choir of Hope; countless late-night meetings and so much more. I could try to name each way that I have witnessed faith, hope, and love in this parish, but then this email would be pages long. Instead I will just say how Christ Our Hope truly is a beacon of light in downtown Seattle and beyond. Something that I know will continue.
I wish that I had been able to take each of you out to a coffee before my departure, but cannot wait to do a
virtual coffee with everyone on Sunday at 9:30 am. Thank you for your hospitality over the past three years. This parish community and each of you will always be in my heart.
In Christ Our Hope,
Lauren Pusich
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Singing Beyond the Words
At Mass we are being invited to become one in a new way-by singing together beyond the words, by making music together as one body, by experiencing the "new song" in a new way by humming.
Singing without text or humming is a new way of singing in Mass, but it is not a new way of making music. Our great composers have used singing without words their most sublime moments. One of the most famous wordless songs is by recently deceased movie composer Ennio Morricone, the powerful theme in The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly. Another is the Humming Chorus, Puccini composed for his opera Madame Butterfly. Puccini moves beyond words to the heart-breaking pure beauty of that pivotal moment when the soul, filled with hope, waits through the night, longing for the return of the Beloved.
Composers have used humming choruses and wordless choruses to portray times of intense prayer (Massenet Thais), to hint at heavenly beauty (Stravinsky The Nightingale) to suggest the presence of the Divine (Holst Neptune, Scriabin Prometheus), to heighten moments of great solemnity (Berlioz Hamlet, Shostakovich King Lear). Of all the possible sounds of singing, humming is the most unified of all. Humans sound the most alike when they hum.
We at Christ Our Hope can produce moments of deep longing for the Beloved, we can hint at heavenly beauty and suggest the presence of the Divine by joining together to sing our songs, acclamations, and responses beyond the words-to hum in perfect heavenly unison -- as one.
- Dr. Savage
Ensemble at 7 PM Mass - July 12, 2020
This Sunday evening, July 12, the music of the 7 PM Mass will be supported by a small ensemble of singers and instrumentalists who will sing "Praise to the Lord" set to a 15th -century Spanish dance. Choir of Hope singers, Marc Wautier and Thomas Varas will proclaim the psalm. Keyboardists also supporting will be Thomas Varas and Dr. Savage as well as Claire McPherson on violin.
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For Christians, our Sunday celebrations of the Eucharist are the highlight of the week. We are happy that Washington State's Phase 2 allows for in-person celebrations once again. In a few weeks, once we are more familiar with our routine for Sunday celebrations, we are going to look at the possibility of resuming some of our 7:00 am daily Mass celebrations. If this happens, we would most likely begin with just 1-2 Masses per week, before increasing the frequency.
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Breaking Open The Word
Our weekly Bible Study covering Sunday's readings, "Breaking Open The Word", has switched to Wednesday's from 5 PM to 6 PM. If you haven't had a chance to join us, please do!
It is a chance to examine the Sunday scriptures in more detail, in a weekly session led by Dr. David Ard. Please consider joining us on
Zoom at 5 PM on Wednesdays.
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How Can You Support Our Community?
Daily Masses would require the same health and safety requirements as Sunday Masses; for example, health screening, masks, social distancing, cleaning pews after Mass, etc. and would require a significant amount of volunteer support. If you have questions or would like to volunteer as a health screener at daily Masses, please contact Paula Holmes.
We also are looking for parishioners who are interested in joining our new parish Racial Justice and Reconciliation Collective. Members of this group will help our parish community discern future actions our community can take towards racial justice. If you feel the Holy Spirit is calling you in this way, please contact Deanna Tighe.
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Virtual Christ Our Hope Continues!
It was such a joy last week to welcome you back to Masses last Sunday. We continue to gather though virtually over Zoom. All parishioners are strongly encouraged to attend one of our upcoming gatherings.
This Sunday after our 8:30 AM Mass we will celebrate Lauren Pusich and her time at Christ Our Hope and wish her well. Join us via Zoom
here.
On Monday, July 13th join us for our Women's luncheon via
Zoom at 12 Noon.
Other weekly opportunities continue such as the "Encounter God" Women's group with Deanna and coffee hour with Deacon Dennis and Fr. Bryan.
You can find the times and links for every event on our website
here
. All groups are facilitated for free over Zoom in your internet browser. If you would like more information on any of our groups, please email Deanna.
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